Books

The Quaker World – Edited by C. Wess Daniels and Rhiannon Grant (2022)

The Quaker World is an outstanding, comprehensive and lively introduction to this complex Christian denomination. Exploring the global reach of the Quaker community, the book begins with a discussion of the living community, as it is now, in all its diversity and complexity.

The book covers well-known areas of Quaker development, such as the formation of Liberal Quakerism in North America, alongside topics which have received much less scholarly attention in the past, such as the history of Quakers in Bolivia and the spread of Quakerism in Western Kenya. It includes over sixty chapters by a distinguished international and interdisciplinary team of contributors and is organised into three clear parts:

Within these sections, key themes are examined, including global Quaker activity, significant Quaker movements, biographies of key religious figures, important organisations, pacifism, politics, the abolition of slavery, education, industry, human rights, racism, refugees, gender, disability, sexuality and environmentalism.

The Quaker World provides an authoritative and accessible source of information on all topics important to Quaker Studies. As such, it is essential reading for students studying world religions, Christianity and comparative religion, and it will also be of interest to those in related fields such as sociology, political science, anthropology and ethics.

Learn more at Routledge: Link

Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance (2019)

The Book of Revelation in the New Testament has been often used to predict terror, the end of the world, and wild conspiracy theories. However, Resisting Empire: The Book of Revelation as Resistance argues that Revelation is a first-century handbook for how radicals resisted empire and has nothing to do with predicting the end of the world. It offers a different way into understanding what Revelation is about with the hope of helping support the growing movement for liberation and anti-poverty embodied by movements like the Poor People’s Campaign.

Find out more here: http://resistingempire.com/

A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the Quaker Tradition in a Participatory Culture. Eugene: Pickwick (2015).

A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the Quaker Tradition in a Participatory Culture, draws on insights from philosophy, contextual theology and participatory culture (i.e. Fandom) to support the revitalization of faith traditions and movements. The Convergent Model of Renewal seeks to hold together both tradition and innovation in ways that foster decentralized, participatory change. While using examples from the Quaker tradition it is my hope that this model can be used by people of any faith when thinking about how to reformulate their tradition in new cultural contexts.

Find A Convergent Model of Renewal through Indie Bookshops, Wipf and Stock, Amazon and Powell’s Books.

Quaker Studies: An Overview: The Current State of the Field Authors: C. Wess Daniels, Robynne Rogers Healey and Jon R. Kershner

The first is a book co-authored with two other Quaker scholars, Jon Kershner and Robynne Rogers Healey. The three of us are associate editors on a 6 year project through Brill Publishing on Quaker Studies. We are working with editors Stephen Angell and Pink Dandelion on this this series, which is going to be quite amazing with some new and emerging Quaker scholars in the mix. I’m very excited about it. This initial book is an introduction to the series. Robynne, Jon, and I each introduce a pretty comprehensive look at the work within Quaker studies up until now in each of our respective areas: history, theology, and sociology.

Here is a link to the publisher’s page.

Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices Co-Editor / Contributor

Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices celebrates, critiques, questions, and reflects on the Quaker faith experience. Writing and visual art by teenage and young adult Quakers from around the world and across the theological and cultural spectrum of the Religious Society of Friends give readers a window on the spiritual riches and witness these Friends offer. The contributors in this volume challenge and inspire, as they witness to and celebrate Quakerism as it has been, as it is, and as it could yet be. The voices here come together in a symphony, cacophonous but also deeply resonant. Listen and you will hear that their Spirit – here called by many names – is undeniably rising. (Quaker Press of FGC 2010 356 PP. Paper)

Other Books I have contributed to

We Cry Justice Edited by Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible proclaims justice and abundance for the poor. Yet these powerful passages about poverty are frequently overlooked and misinterpreted.Enter the Poor People’s Campaign, a movement against racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and religious nationalism. In We Cry Justice, Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the campaign, is joined by pastors, community organizers, scholars, low-wage workers, lay leaders, and people in poverty to interpret sacred stories about the poor seeking healing, equity, and freedom. In a world roiled by poverty and injustice, Scripture still speaks.By Liz Theoharis (Editor), William J. Barber II (Foreword by), Aaron Scott (Contributor), Adam Barnes (Contributor), Charon Hribar (Contributor), Ciara Taylor (Contributor), Claire Chadwick (Contributor), Clinton Wright (Contributor), Colleen Wessel-McCoy (Contributor), Dan Jones (Contributor), Erica Williams (Contributor), Tejai Beulah (Contributor), Jessica Chadwick Williams (Contributor), Letiah Frasier (Contributor), Sarah Monroe (Contributor), Savina J. Martin (Contributor), Solita Alexander Riley (Contributor), Tonny Algood (Contributor), Wess Daniels (Contributor), Keith M Bullard II (Contributor), and so many more.

Learn more and order at the Kairos Center or wherever you buy your books.

We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign Fall 2021

Convergent Friends: Renewal, Hybridity and Dialogue in 21st Century Quakerism by C. Wess Daniels and Greg Woods in The Cambridge Companion to Quakerism Edited by Stephen W. Angell & Pink Dandelion

Greg Woods and I co-wrote a chapter on Convergent Friends for this edited volume of the Cambridge Companion to Quakerism. This chapter is, in my opinion, the best most clearly outlined history and contemporary description of convergent Friends. It reaches back to the 1800s and looks at some of the key threads that lead into what we now call “convergent Friends.” And it also offers three case studies on convergent Friends: Freedom Friends church in Salem, Oregon, Convergent Friends Worship Group in the Portland Metropolitan area, and Quaker Voluntary Service. I loved writing and working on this chapter and I loved working on it with Greg Woods, who is a Quaker leader, theologian, and scholar in his own right. Link to Amazon’s page

An Inner Strength: “Holding the Tension in Quaker Leadership“

“The Society of Friends has never had many members, but it is not the number that matters. What counts more is their inner strength and their deeds.” -Gunnar Jahn, chairman of the Nobel Committee in 1947, What is this inner strength? How does it help shape such effective leaders and organizations? This collection of essays from contemporary American Quaker leaders is a wealth of personal reflections on these questions. For study groups and newcomers to Quakerism, each section includes an introduction and queries for deeper exploration of listening, discernment, and action as led by the Spirit. Contributors include: Shan Cretin AFSC, Robin Mohr FWCC, Joe Volk FCNL. Western Friend 2013 145 PP. Paper Edited by Kathy Hyzy

Historical Dictionary of the Friends (Quakers) Contributed Articles: Convergent Friends, Freedom Friends Church

The modern reputation of Friends in the United States and Europe is grounded in the relief work they have conducted in the presence and aftermath of war. Friends (also known as Quakers) have coordinated the feeding and evacuation of children from war zones around the world. They have helped displaced persons without regard to politics. They have engaged in the relief of suffering in places as far-flung as Ireland, France, Germany, Ethiopia, Egypt, China, and India. Their work was acknowledged with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Friends Service Council of Great Britain. More often, however, Quakers live, worship, and work quietly, without seeking public attention for themselves. Now, the Friends are a truly worldwide body and are recognized by their Christ-centered message of integrity and simplicity, as well as their nonviolent stance and affirmation of the belief that all people—women as well as men—may be called to the ministry.

Writing Cheerfully, “The Boundaries of Convergent Friends”

This book brings to print the online conversation that has been mending our historical schisms and pointing to who we are as the Religious Society of Friends. If you’re ready to have your stereotypes shattered about who the “real” Quakers are, then read what these 32 Friends from across the Quaker branches have discovered for themselves. Topics include “Worship and Ministry,” “That of God,” “Reclaiming and Re-examining our Traditions,” “Convergent Friends,” and “Openings and Personal Story.” “Liz Oppenheimer has compiled some of the best of Quaker blogs in a more traditional publishing format.” – Brent Bill (Elizabeth Oppenheimer 2009 273 PP. Paper)